Environment Archives

June 22, 2007

Revisión de Noticias: Iniciativa Google Earth de Beneficencia, Earth Pantalla Gigante, Pollmapr, Conferencias

  • Iniciativa Google Earth de Beneficencia - El Martes 26 de Junio, estoy llendo a la Oficina de Google en Nueva York. Google envió invitaciones a la prensa hace dos días para anunciar un nuevo programa creado especialmente para las organizaciones de Beneficencia de todo el mundo. La Red de Tecnología de Beneficencia informó sobre la invitación recibida. Los únicos detalles que se conocen al momento son los oradores: John Hanke, Director de Google Earth; Jane Goodall, del Instituto Jane Goodall; Kathy Bushkin Calvin, de la Fundación Naciones Unidas; Edward Wilson, del Instituto "Earthwatch"; and Elliot Schrage, de Relaciones Públicas de Google.

  • Google Earth en Pantalla Gigante en Apple WWDC

    La Tierra en Pantalla Gigante - Apple muestra Google Earth en una pared gigante de video usando 18 pantallas Apple de 30 pulgadas y alta resolución. Aparentemente una Mac Pro fué utilizada para cada dos pantallas. ¡Me hubiera gustado verlo por mí mismo! Fué presentado en la Conferencia Mundial de Desarrolladores Apple 2007. via OgleEarth.

  • Pollmapr - Herramientas Geográficas Gratis informa sobre un nuevo sitio gratuito que te permite realizar encuestas. Lo interesante es que el sitio ofrece la posibilidad de registrar, mediante la IP del usuario, la ubicación de quien participa, mostrando ciudad/país del mismo. Pollmapr luego, provee un archivo KML para poder ver los resultados en Google Earth.

  • Conferencias - Se aproximan las conferencias de Mundos/Globos Virtuales: Conferencia y Exposición de Mundos Virtuales de Otoño tendrá lugar en San Jose, California el 10 de Octubre de 2007. También, el próximo mes está Geoweb 2007 del 23 al 27 de Julio de 2007en Vancouver, British Columbia. El CTO de Google Earth, Michael Jones, será uno de los referentes en esta Conferencia. Esta, probablemente, sea mayormente del interés de la gente de Google Earth. Me gustaría ir pero esa semana estaré navegando por el Caribe!!!

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack


June 19, 2007

Google Earth Helping Amazon Indians

Amazon Indians Using Google EarthA post at Google Lat-Long blog by Googler Rebecca Moore tells of a recent visit she had from the Chief of the Surui Indian tribe from the Brazilian Amazon jungles. The Amazon rain forests are rapidly disappearing due to logging and mining. The Surui people are doing everything they can to protect their lands. For the last year an organization called the Amazon Conservation Team has been helping train the Indians to use Google Earth and GPS units to map Surui villages, hunting grounds, sacred sites, and cultural sites as well as areas where they've found illegal mining and logging incursions onto their land (see GEB post from last year). This effort has helped their lands become properly registered with the Brazilian government which enables the government to do a better job to protect the lands from encroachment. I recently attended a presentation by Mark Plotkin of the Amazon Conservation Team at the ISDE5 conference where he describe the project in detail. It sounds like a wonderful project and the efforts appear to have had good results. Stopping rain forest destruction is an important step in preserving the future of our planet in my opinion.

UPDATE: Just saw this article from the International Herald Tribune on this subject.

The Google Earth team has supported a number of different projects to help raise awareness of environmental problems and human issues. See an excellent article summarizing several Google Earth awareness projects at Imaging Notes which was written by Rebecca Moore as well.

Related:

Posted by FrankTaylor at 04:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 08, 2007

ISDE Day 3 Summary

Read my overview of ISDE5 here, or visit their web site ISDE5.org for more details. Also, read my summary from ISDE5 Day 1, and my summary from ISDE 5 Day 2. So, after nearly two weeks of attending conferences, I'm getting a bit tired. But, I'm valiantly attempting to still summarize highlights. I will follow up later (maybe next week?) with more details for some of the things I liked most. Here are some of my notes from Day 3 - my apologies, but I missed several of the talks during the morning session due to other obligations, and the ones I did see had little to do with Google Earth.

  • International Polar Year - Technical session. Matt Nolan presented the IPY Google Earth network link. He appealed to other IPY scientists to start developing more KML content to be included in the network link. They are also working to get the network link included as a Google Earth layer. Although it is a bit unique in form, I think Google should make an effort to highlight the IPY content. Several suggestions were made to help improve the process (writing a manual to help scientists understand how best to submit the KML content, doing some user testing to improve the design, and using more features of GE - like 3D - to grab the attention of the general public). Download the IPY network link . Stefan Geens also demonstrated that he was implementing GeoRSS tags for IPY news and will be publishing a network link allowing people to visualize IPY news in Google Maps or Earth.

  • Sensor Webs in Digital Earth - Matt Heavner talked about the importance of sensor webs to gather and collect data from different types of sensors to scientific research. He then discussed why KML is an important vehicle for sharing and visualizing the data from sensor webs. KML enables scientists to not only collect data in real-time, but also show different forms of data (placemarks, tables, photos, graphs, 3D shapes, and web cam photos) all tied to location. By using KML you also can use either Google Earth or the browser-based Google Maps. Although Stefan Geens (who was attending) pointed out Maps doesn't handle areas around the poles very well.

  • Volcanic Ash Dispersion Modeling in Google Earth - Peter Webley of the Alaska Volcano Observatory presented his research visualizations which use a very innovative application of Google Earth technology to show ash plumes which are thrown into the atmosphere by volcanoes. I first saw this at the AGU conference last fall. But, I never wrote about it because there was no available KML file. It turns out their model outputs 2000 placemarks with graphical icons to model the plume as particles. The icons are designed to look like gray ash from a distance and it works quite well. They also use time animation to show how the plumes drift. They also have the ability to predict how the ash plumes will drift based on atmospheric models. The airlines use this to avoid flight plans which might take them into these dangerous clouds of ash. You can read more about this at their web site - which includes several GIF animations. I can't resist, so here is one example showing ash coming from Mt. St. Helens' eruption in 1980 in Google Earth:

  • NASA Earth Observatory (NEO) - David Herring presented the efforts of NASA to provide a valuable educational tool designed to not only educate the public, but also to attract young people into the field of science. Not only that, but the data is very valuable for illustrating climatic change, how humans are effecting the environment, and for analyzing our planet. The NEO web site has recently been re-designed to be even more effective. What I like is their support for showing the data in Google Earth. If you click on "Ocean->Sea Surface Temperature" you not only see a flat 2D map showing the data, but also a link for a Google Earth version like this . Although, I was disappointed to note the data came from 1985. But, I liked David's approach to designing better ways to view data.


  • Spot Image Announced Planet Action - The president of Spot Image US announced a new initiative called Planet Action. My hat is off to any company which takes on the noble goal of trying to organize a call to action to help take care of our planet. And, a satellite imagery company certainly has a good perspective to understand what is happening on Earth. So far they have enlisted the aid of partners: ESRI, Unesco, and Infoterra. They should definitely talk to Google if they want to get maximum exposure.


  • After these sessions, there was a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony. During the cocktails I managed to grab Stefan Geens for a photo. Look for a separate post on that. One of the winners of the visualization challenge was UNEP for their Google Earth layer which shows 120 locations around the Earth where noticeable problems demonstrating natural climatic change and human destruction of the environment have occurred. See my earlier post on the UNEP layer which is now under the new "Global Awareness" layer in GE.



Posted by FrankTaylor at 01:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 06, 2007

Google Earth More Realistic with Better Terrain

New high resolution terrain in Google Earth - Grand CanyonThere was a lot of news last week from Google. Much of the news had to do with Google Maps, APIs, KML search, and KML support on other platforms. However, this past weekend Google released an enormous amount of new imagery all over the world. But, even more significant in my opinion, was the release of new high resolution 3D terrain, or digital elevation model (DEM) data. The new data is 10-meter resolution. Google Earth's terrain data mostly comes from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission which is at best 30 meter and sometimes 90 meter in resolution. This means Google Earth's data for the western US and the Canaries is now three to nine times higher than before.

What does this mean? This means when you tilt your view in Google Earth while looking at the new data (using your middle mouse button, the slider in the top right, or your SpaceNavigator), you are seeing terrain features which more closely resemble reality. Also, since the terrain is more accurate, the satellite/aerial photos taken from above stretches over the terrain more accurately. This means the scenery looks much better. Those of you who are familiar with the western mountains should try it out. Two better-known examples: the Grand Canyon of Arizona and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming are good places to start.

Google had previously released high resolution terrain for the Swiss Alps (see a fly-through video). I'm expecting they will be adding more parts of the world with this 10 meter data as well. I've asked Google if they can share a map showing what regions the new data covers. Does anyone know where they are getting this data?

There are people interested in seeing higher resolution terrain for their countries in GE. See this execellent illustration of why high resolution terrain is important by Christian Sam who posted it at GEC. It uses a time animation to "extrude" high resolution terrain in a small area of Austria.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 10:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 05, 2007

International Symposium on Digital Earth - Day 1, Part 1

Today I'm attending the Fifth International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE5.org) at the University of California at Berkeley. The ISDE is an opportunity to discuss how digital information about the Earth can be gathered, provided, and disseminated to help us all better understand the planet. This year's event is significant in the face of increasing concerns about global climatic change. It's particularly interesting that Vice President Al Gore is partially responsible for the efforts surrounding the concepts of the Digital Earth based on a speech he gave in 1998.

There will be a number of presentations during the next few days of the symposium which will talk about Google Earth, both in terms of its role in the Digital Earth - and in terms of environmental and scientific data and projects involving Google Earth. I'm expecting to hear this week about how virtual globes like Google Earth, Virtual Earth, and World Wind will help (and are helping) everyone learn more about our planet and gain access to Digital Earth information. This afternoon we'll hear from Michael Jones, CTO of Google Earth (look for a post about this later).

Posted by FrankTaylor at 02:53 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

More entries for this category:

  1. Google Releases High Resolution Terrain - Western US and Canaries - June 02, 2007
  2. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
  3. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part II - May 18, 2007
  4. New Google Earth Layers Update: Amsterdam 3D, Forest Service, Taiwan Roads - May 17, 2007
  5. News Roundup 1 - Education, Clean Cruising, Magnalox, NASA UAVSAR - May 06, 2007
  6. See the Googleplex Solar Panel Plan in 3D - May 01, 2007
  7. News Roundup - Chile Border Crisis, Caribou, Gumball Rally, Emotions - April 30, 2007
  8. Maverick Waves Explained - Illustration in Google Earth - April 23, 2007
  9. New California Marine Protected Areas in Google Earth - April 20, 2007
  10. New Google Earth Layers for April: Darfur, Trimble, and more - April 09, 2007
  11. Animation Roundup: Rising Sea Levels, Filling Grand Canyon, Global Clouds - April 06, 2007
  12. Utah Geo Sightseeing in Google Earth - April 04, 2007
  13. Historical Maps of Tornado Paths in the US - April 03, 2007
  14. The Awesome Victoria Falls in Google Earth - March 24, 2007
  15. Super High Resolution Photos in Google Earth - March 18, 2007
  16. Google Highlights New Layers - March 13, 2007
  17. Major Layer Update for Google Earth - March 10th - March 10, 2007
  18. New Snow and Ice Data for Google Earth - March 05, 2007
  19. Happy International Polar Year! Google Earth Presentation - March 02, 2007
  20. World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth - February 27, 2007
  21. NASA Releases More Earth Data for Google Earth - February 22, 2007
  22. National Geographic on Elephant Poaching - Google Earth Presentation - February 20, 2007
  23. News Roundup - FreeGeoTools, Sprol, Subsurface, conferences, Magnalox - February 12, 2007
  24. Google Earth Critical Tool in Fight Against Logging Plan - February 06, 2007
  25. Discovery Sunrise on Google Earth - January 29, 2007
  26. Daily NASA MODIS Satellite Imagery for Google Earth - January 20, 2007
  27. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
  28. NOAA Releases Estuarine Bathymetric Data for Google Earth - January 12, 2007
  29. Upper Green Valley Environmental Issues Illustrated with Google Earth - January 10, 2007
  30. New Imagery Update for the Holidays - Awesome! - December 17, 2006
  31. Virtual Globes Sessions at AGU - Day 1 - December 13, 2006
  32. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Publishes Google Earth Content - December 08, 2006
  33. View Melting Glaciers in Google Earth - December 03, 2006
  34. Maplecroft Risk Analsysis Global Maps in Google Earth - November 22, 2006
  35. Protecting Rainforests in Victoria, Australia Using Google Earth - November 21, 2006
  36. Amazon Indians Using Google Earth to Protect Tropical Forests - November 15, 2006
  37. Earth on Fire - November 04, 2006
  38. End Mountain Top Removal Campaign with Google Earth - October 15, 2006
  39. UNEP's New Environment Layer in Google Earth - September 21, 2006
  40. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
  41. New Environment and Conservation Forum for Google Earth Community - July 17, 2006
  42. Map of Projected Sea Level Rise Effects on Vancouver - May 08, 2006
  43. USGS Releases Geologic Maps for Google Earth - April 25, 2006
  44. Earth Day - Google Earth Style - April 22, 2006
  45. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Adds Google Earth Data - April 13, 2006
  46. State of Our Ecology in Google Earth - April 12, 2006
  47. Sierra Club Shows Public Land Sale Proposal in Google Earth - March 17, 2006
  48. More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth - January 31, 2006
  49. Global Fire Data in Google Earth - January 26, 2006
  50. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
  51. Environmental Groups Leveraging Google Earth - January 16, 2006
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